The main road out of Wellington is closed due to flooding; multiple houses damaged

The main route north of Wellington is closed due to flooding and no detours are available.

Several houses have also flooded in the suburb of Plimmerton.

The New Zealand Transportation Agency (NZTA) has warned motorists to delay their trip as State Highway 1, between Plimmerton and Paekakariki, is completely closed.

NZTA said the highway would remain closed until further notice.

The flooding occurs around the Plimmerton roundabout.

Members of the public took to the NZTA Twitter page to warn of the slow traffic caused by the floods.

“Sitting just before Paekakariki heading south, just moving forward. People turn around,” said a woman.

Another person said they hadn’t moved in 10 minutes.

The region has been affected by heavy and constant rains overnight and for much of the morning.

Paekakariki Hill Rd and Grays Rd are also closed.

An NZTA spokeswoman said that around 11:30 a.m., the floods appeared to be receding as the rain had stopped, but it was still expected to pass one to two hours before the road could reopen.

Metlink also warned that train services between Porirua and Paekakariki are suspended due to an obstruction on the track.

As of noon, Fire and Emergency NZ had received about 20 calls regarding the flooding in the Plimmerton area.

A spokesman said these were calls for general assistance: “flooding on property, flooding outside.”

He said there were 16 calls that Fenz would have responded to and six handed over to the local council and police.

He said Plimmerton was “a small community, so a lot of people come to the fire station to report their calls as well.”

A unit of command had been created and localized resources were being dispatched.

Metservice meteorologist Andy Best said there had been a “dramatic” amount of rain in the area, particularly on the Kapiti coast.

“Places like Levin, in just six hours, have seen around 40 millimeters of rain.”

Paraparaumu had 45mm and Waikanae had 59mm of rain in the six hours to 11am, Best said.

But there was good news: “the ruts that brought that … have actually started to clear.”

Best said Wellington City was currently dry and would continue down the coast.

“So we are seeing a big improvement in conditions this afternoon and into the evening.”

“All the winds will go out and give the places affected by this rain a chance to dry up.”

However, Best said the weather radar had “another dramatic feature” in the country tomorrow.

He said there could be “very strong, possibly severe gales”, southerly winds and rain for the lower North Island and the Marlborough Sounds.

“A very cold shift south is coming tomorrow night and it will be quite dramatic as it moves through the capital.”

– With Jake McKee Cagney